Rwanda gorilla tours are a great chance to spend some quality time with the mountain gorillas in their natural habitat. The mountain gorillas are an endangered animal species that can be visited in Uganda, Rwanda and the Democratic republic of Congo. There are four national parks in these three countries that offer gorilla tours to one of the habituated gorilla families.
Gorillas live in a family setting just like the humans with one leader, identified as the silverback. The silverback gorilla has a grey strip of hair on his lower back and on a few cases, you will spot more than one silverback in one gorilla family. Rwanda offers the most flexible gorilla tours as you can choose from budget gorilla tours, midrange gorilla tours, luxury gorilla tours or super luxury gorilla tours all depending on your preference.
Rwanda gorilla tours range from about 1,700 USD upwards and this is mainly influenced by the mountain gorilla permit that is sold at 1,500 USD. There are a number of tour operators that can arrange for you an unforgettable gorilla safari to the Volcanoes national park, the home of the mountain gorillas of Rwanda. The determinant factors of the Rwanda gorilla safari are the choice of accommodation, vehicle type hired, the season of travel and also the administrative costs of the company.
Explore Rwanda tours offers the best quotes for guests interested in taking on the gorilla experience as they do the hustle behind the safari and yet at a very affordable and value for money price. You may opt to book your experience through a trusted operator as they are more familiar with the destination and also can get you the best bargain as an agent. It is very important to book your gorilla safari months ahead of your preferred travel dates as some months have a high demand and permits run out first.
Rwanda’s Volcanoes national park has about 12 habituated gorilla families that guests can visit and each of these habituated families can host 8 visitors per day implying 96 gorilla permits available per day. During the peak months, these gorilla permits are sold out very fast and these peak months run from June to September and later in the year from December to February. These are considered the peak months as the number of visitors is much higher and demand for services is as much.
A mountain gorilla trekking in the Volcanoes national park is flagged off by a morning briefing at 7 am at the Kinigi park headquarters. On this briefing, the park rangers share the expected code of conduct, the dos and don’ts while in the forest and you also get a chance to hire the equipment and gear you may have missed to carry. Guests will set out into the forest to look for the gorillas. The gorillas in Rwanda are usually found within 2 hours as these tend to stay close to the starting point.
It is very important to note that the gorilla trekking experience in the Volcanoes national park is a more strenuous one in terms of altitude as the mountain slopes start from Kinigi so expect to hike higher grounds. The vegetation in the Volcanoes national park is majorly bamboo giving guests a clearer view of the gorillas even at an 8-meter distance.
Guests may search for 2 hours or less depending on how far into the forest the gorillas may have moved that day and once you meet them, guests can enjoy a magical one hour watching the gorillas go about their day, watch the adults care for the young ones and the young ones playing with each other.
Gorilla trekking in Rwanda can only be done in the Volcanoes national park and this park is only a 2-hour road transfer from Kigali city, the capital city of Rwanda and the base of the Kigali International airport. The Volcanoes national park offers a number of discounted permits for guests such as for the East African foreign residents can purchase a permit at 500 USD. Get in touch with us and let us plan your Rwanda gorilla tour.
